It's Summer Time!

Our small group came over for a summer pool party this week, and it was a blast! We hung out by the pool, played racket-ball, and then stayed up late watching the game. It is so fun to entertain and spend time with fun friends like these. :D

My reading list

I have to preface this post by stating that I can not remember the last book I completed or even attempted to complete before moving to Texas. But it would appear that I have almost [but not quite] become and avid reader!

Here is my reading list:

• "For Women Only" and "For Men Only" by Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn
• "The Shack" by William Young
• "Better Because of You" by Ginny Hutchinson & Cathy Haffner
• "From Pride to Humility"
• "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller
• "The Hunger Games" Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• "What did you expect? Redeeming the realities of marriage" by Paul David Tripp
• "He Loves Me!" by Wayne Jacobsen
• "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace
• "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo
• "Peacemaking for Families" by Ken Sande
• And I've reread most of the New Testament using my new HCSB Study Bible

This season of my life

The past year and a half has been quite unusual for me. I went from having a job and a full schedule of classes to having neither. And I got married! I'm not going to lie. It was all a shock to my system and I found the need to seemingly redefine who I am. Everything I knew about me was different. Don't get me wrong; it isn't a bad different, just a wild-and-crazy-adventure different.

And so that has been my year. An organized, fast paced, schedule oriented, and independent individual has been granted ungodly amounts of free time to get creative, read (did I mention I'm not creative and hate to read?-- true story.), and just enjoy God's presence in the everyday. I have caught up on some old hobbies and dabbled in some new ones. I have spent lazy days teaching our dog dumb tricks and baking goodies from my stash of Pinterest pins. I've learned to braid my own hair and coupon and don't even get me started on the Farmer's Market!

I have also had a lot of time to pursue friendships and ministry opportunities here in San Antonio. I'm not nearly as outgoing as some think I am, so it has been both a challenge and a blessing. We have gotten involved in an amazing large church in downtown that provides us many outlets to socialize and grow friendships as well as grow spiritually. We have also had the pleasure of being involved in a smaller church on the north side of San Antonio that allows us to serve the community and church members in a variety of ways. Both churches show God's love and the family of Christ in different ways and have taught us so much.

In this season of life, Ronnie and I get to spend the better part of each day together. Yes, it has its sour and strenuous moments, but it has been a huge blessing, especially in our first year of marriage. We know that "normal" or "real" life wont afford us this privilege so we cherish it and try to make the most of every second. We have grown to be close friends. We have time to talk and dream together as well as embark on fun little adventures in San Antonio and surrounding areas.

And it has been SO great.

I have grown so much in the past year and have found so much more of God. Though this was not the direction I foresaw or planned for, it has been the experience of a lifetime for which I will ever be grateful.

(My frustration) ÷ (my procrastination) = Yuck!

As many of you know, my life has been consumed with Trigonometry the last week or so. I have a big test coming up that a lot is riding on and that I should have taken... um, well... let's be honest... about a year ago. It's not that the material is overly complicated or that I cant master it, but that it is so abstract and uninteresting to me. That and I have procrastinated on it for so long that I am now starting from scratch. *sigh* I guess that is what I get. But this drawing basically sums up the way I feel about it.

Our November Wedding Book

I can finally share the book that I made with our wedding photos as a keepsake for our families! I was waiting for extended family to see it first before showing it to the rest of the world. Follow the link below to see it on shutterfly and feel free to leave me some comments here too! Enjoy!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EaOHLRozZNHbg

Fresh Blueberry Scone

with a lemon glaze

2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

note: I will probably cut down on the butter in the future. It puddled a little on the tray leading me to believe there was a little more than needed.

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt using the paddle attachment. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the butter is mixed in and is the size of peas. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs and whipping cream with a fork. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the cream and egg mixture. Turn off the mixer once added. Fold in blueberries .

Put some flour on the counter. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Add some flour onto the top of the dough, then pat it out into a disk - about 8-9 inches in diameter. Cut the disk into 6 pieces like a pie.

note: these scones were BIG. I will probably cut them smaller in the future.

Separate the pieces and put them on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

To make the glaze, stir together lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Note: I did not need nearly that much icing and had to add a lot more powdered sugar to get it thick enough, so start with the sugar and add juice to it as needed.

This recipe was taken from this blog and tweeked slightly.

Creativity!

I've been pinning! Here is what I have been up to along with the links to the project below.

Home-made Dog Treats [in Texas shapes!]

http://www.comeonilene.com/2011/05/31/homemade-dog-treats/

Sewing Jars. I made these for a craft sale.

http://www.marthastewart.com/272417/sewing-kit-in-a-jar?backto

Box of Balloons (each with a little surprise in it)! A fun de-stressing package for finals week

http://choosecraftiness.blogspot.com/2012/01/birthday-balloons.html

[not my picture]

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html

Okay, these are things not from pinterest but still first tries that turned out DELICIOUS.

Blueberry yogurt muffins

Donut Muffins

Blueberry scones with lemon glaze

April Surgery

Ronnie had surgery on Wednesday, April 25th. It lasted about 5.5 hours and they did quite a bit. They did a total of 5 Z-plasties on his right arm ranging from his shoulder all the way to his elbow. It looks more like one long zig-zag but Ronnie says he can already feel the difference. He also had a scar band excised from his right hand and a full thickness skin graft from his left arm put in its place. Two pins are currently holding his hand open and a large bolster is tied tightly to his palm.

They did not do any work on his torso or leg this time which meant no a slightly shorter hospital stay. He got out this morning and is relaxing on the couch. While his pain is tolerable enough to be discharged, it is by no means gone, so pray that it would continue to diminish.

Our biggest prayer request at this point is for Ronnie's hand. We knew going into the surgery that there was high risk for nerve damage since his hand has been operated on so many times. When he woke up in ICU, he immediately had the doctor called in because he had numbness in his fingers (mainly his pointer). After anesthetics wore off and feeling was still absent, the doctor said that he believes that the bolster is putting pressure on the nerves but there is no way to know if there is damage, permanent or otherwise, or to what extent until the bolster is removed next week. Understandably, this has worried Ronnie a lot as he does not know to what extent his hand will be able to function later in life. I am reassured that the doctors do not anticipate permanent damage, but there is no way to be sure. We know that God is the ultimate healer and we are praying that, whatever the outcome, his grace will be sufficient.

Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Cute, Cute

Am I an awful person for dressing my dog up in a multitude of clothing? Is it worth the humiliation of being "that kind of person?" You decide.

Disclaimer: Little Mia Bell was not harmed in the making of this post. In fact, she adored the attention as well as the clothing.
Disclaimer #2: Neither Ronnie nor I am responsible for the purchasing of most of the outfits... okay... we did buy most, BUT NOT ALL!
Side note: If you have not seen the fuzzy, fuzzy, cute, cute video and have no idea to what I am referencing, click HERE

Our Texan Easter

We were so blessed to be able to spend our Easter with some dear friends from our San Antonio church. Love you guys!